Asia stocks end mixed; Nikkei closes 1.2% higher on upbeat earnings

Investing.com - Asian stock markets were mixed on Wednesday, with shares in Japan bouncing off the previous session’s three-month low on the back of upbeat corporate earnings.

During late Asian trade, Australia’s ASX/200 Index closed 0.53% lower, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 0.85%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index ended up 1.23%. Markets in China remained closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.

Asia was given a positive lead from the U.S., where the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 ended higher after data showed that U.S. factory orders fell less-than-expected in December.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei picked up 1.2% one day after plunging by 4.2%, the most since June 2012.

Panasonic rallied 19% after the electronics maker reported the first quarterly profit in three years in the latest nine month period.

Toyota jumped 6% after it projected a record net profit of JPY2.4 trillion for the current fiscal year ending March.

Sony advanced 4.6% on news that it is in talks to sell its unprofitable Vaio personal-computer business to Japan Industrial Partners, an investment fund.

Meanwhile, in Australia, the ASX/200 Index ended at the lowest level since December 13 as sentiment was dampened amid reduced expectations for near-term easing by the Reserve Bank of Australia.

The Big Four banks were mostly lower, with Commonwealth Banking Group down and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group slumping 1% apiece, while National Australia Bank fell 0.8% and Westpac Banking Group dropped 0.3%.

Elsewhere, in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng fell to the weakest level since July amid ongoing concerns that a flurry of new initial public offering listings will lead to a share glut and hurt liquidity.

Looking ahead, European stock market futures pointed to a lower open. The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a loss of 0.5%, France’s CAC 40 futures shed 0.3%, London’s FTSE 100 futures indicated a decline of 0.3%, while Germany's DAX futures slumped 0.3%.

The euro zone is to release data on retail sales, while Spain and Italy are to publish data on service sector activity.

Across the Atlantic, U.S. equity markets also pointed to a lower open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a drop of 0.4%, S&P 500 futures inched down 0.5%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a decline of 0.45%.

Later in the day, the U.S. is to release the ADP report on private sector job creation, which leads the government’s nonfarm payrolls report by two days. Meanwhile, the ISM is to publish a report service sector activity.